Guard for feeding dishes



N 11, 1952 P. 1.. CLARK GUARD FOR FEEDING DISHES 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1949 PERRY L. CLARK INVENTOR.

NOV. 11, 1.952 p CLARK GUARD FOR FEEDING DISHES iled Oct. 14, 1949 2 SHEET S.SHEET 2 PERRY L-cL/4FK INVENTOR. $WMW Patented Nov. 11,1952

GUARD FOR FEEDING DISHES Perry L. Clark, Portland, Oreg.

Application October 14, 1949, Serial No. 121,417

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in feeding bowls or dishes of conventional design and used for feeding small young fur bearing animals such as rabbits, kittens and the like.

It is one of the principal objects of the invention to provide means which may be quickly and conveniently attached to a feeding bowl to divide the same into a plurality of individual feeding compartments wherein the food will be equally distributed and readily accessible to the animals but so constructed and applied to the bowl that the animals cannot enter the bowl by climbing over the rim thereof.

The invention comprises a plurality of plates interlocked at their centers and radiating to and resting upon and engaged with an inwardly turned flange of the feeding bowl.

A further object of the invention is to provide guard plates of the character described which may be inexpensively manufactured out of sheet metal by simple punching operations.

These and other objects will appear as my invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and finally pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a feeding bowl equipped with one form of guard plates made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the bowl with a wall fragment broken away to illustrate one means of engaging the guard plates with the flanged rim of the bowl.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective detail view illustrating means for applying a terminal end of one of the plates to the flanged rim of the bowl for locking engagement therewith.

Figure 4 is a detail view of a modified form of guard plate and locking means therefor.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a further modification of guard plate and locking means.

Figure 6 is a sectional detail view taken approximately along the line 6--6 of Figure 5.

Referring now more particularly to the draw- 1ngs:

The feed bowl illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is formed around its rims with an inwardly turned flange l and is of the type commonly used for feeding small young fur bearing animals such as rabbits, kittens and the like which are of such size that they frequently fall into the interior of the bowl in their eagerness to get at the food therein. To prevent this and the resultant contamination and waste of food, and to divide the bowl into a plurality of individual feeding sections I provide two or more interconnected guard plates indicated at 2 and 3. The plate 2 is out downwardly from its top to form a slot 4 to receive the upper portion of the plate 3 whose lower portion is slotted to embrace the un-cut lower portion of the plate 2. This looks the two plates in right angle positions to each other, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. To further stabilize the plates and to maintain them in their proper positions, I turn the edges of the slot 4 in the plate 2 outwardly in opposite directions as at 5 to bear against opposite sides of the plate 3.

Each plate is of arcuate shape as shown and the terminal ends of the plate 3 are formed with upper and lower ears 6 and 1, respectively, to engage with the top and under sides, respectively, of the flange I of the bowl. For presenting the guard plates to the bowl for engagement therewith I bend one of the lower ears I inwardly as shown in Figure 3 so that it will pass below the flange into a position where it may be bent back beneath the flange for engagement therewith. The ends of the plate 2 terminate in upper ears only which rest upon the top surface of the flange I of the bowl.

In the modified form of guard plate shown in Figure 4, I dispense with one of the lower ears and instead provide a pin 9 rotatably mounted in clips or bearings l6 punched out of the plate. The pin is turned at right angles to itself, as at H, for removable engagement with a clip I2 also punched out of the plate. When the plate is placed within the bowl the pin is first drawn inwardly to its dotted line position to pass the flange and then moved outwardly into its full line position as shown for locked engagement beneath the flange IA of the bowl. At the same time the angular portion H is locked within the clip I 2.

In the further modified form of the invention illustrated in Figure 5, I also dispense with the locking ear and instead provide a spring wire l3 rotatably mounted at one of its ends in a clip or bearing l4 punched from the plate and formed with a hook portion I5 at its opposite end. When placing this plate within the bowl or removing it therefrom the wire [3 is swung downwardly and then drawn inwardly into the dotted line position shown so that its one end will clear the flange IB of the bowl. For locking the plate to the bowl the wire is thrust outwardly until its said one end engages beneath the flange of the bowl and is then swung upwardly into the full line position after the 3 hook portion I5 has been engaged with a notch l6 formed in the plate. This looks both plates to the bowl and to each other by means of the wire I3 springing into a notch ll formed in the companion plate I8.

While I have shown several forms of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

Guard plates for a feeding bowl having an.

inwardly turned flange for a rim, the combination of a plurality of radially disposed plates each; of arcuate shape in side elevation, one of said plates having a slot extending upwardly from the center of its bottom edge, the othenoi said plates having a slot extending downwardly from the center of its top edge and in alignment with said first mentioned slot wherebysaid platesrmay be attached to each other by the intermeshing of said plates through the medium of said slots, each of said plates having outwardly extending upper ears to rest upon the top surface of said rim of the bowl for supporting both of said plates thereon, the terminal ends of one of said plates having at least one lower ear bearing against the underside of said rim for locking said one of said plates to the rim.

PERRY L. CLARK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,310,836 Mosteller July 22, 1919 1,435,393 Henderson Nov. 14, 1922 1,912,505 Weston June 6, 1933 2,065,878 Wurzlow Dec. 29, 1936 2,309,896 Gustafson et a1. Feb. 2, 1943 2,471,765 Morton May 31, 1949 2,475,207 Smith July 5, 1949 2,505,396 Gruidstaff Apr. 25, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 515,008 Great Britain Nov. 23, 1939 

